The bishop, having ended his first task, began to consider how he could lay hold of the proscribed, which was no easy matter. The most natural way would have been to capture each of them in his own house; but he feared, that if he went to work in that fashion, some would hide themselves, others would escape, and others would be rescued in the streets. The alarm would spread in a moment, and the daring huguenots would entrench themselves in Baudichon de la Maisonneuve's house. Above all, Pierre de la Baume was wanting in frankness; he excelled, whenever he pleased, in appearing amiable to those whom he hated. He resolved to give them an invitation, and to hold out his hand graciously to the men whose death he was plotting. He will invite them to his palace, 'trusting in his faith,' but without keeping it.[764] He will thus take them all by one cast of the net, then he will tie the knot, and the poor wretches shall leave the saloons of the palace only to descend to its dungeons. It was thought an excellent stratagem, and preparations were made for carrying it out. The next day, July 5th, the bishop's officers called on the citizens entered in the black list, and in his name gave them an invitation, which must have appeared to them either a great honour or a treacherous snare. If any of them raised objections, the messengers assured them, in the prelate's name, that no harm would come to them. Some through candour, others from ignorance, and others also from rashness, proceeded to the episcopal palace. They had put on their finest suits and wore their swords. What could the bishop want with them?... Probably to obtain some concessions, and they were firmly decided not to make any. Others, who were more clear-sighted or more prudent, took to flight. The clerical riots which had preceded the bishop's coming, the unsatisfactory company by which he was surrounded, and the demands he had made—all combined to give food for thought to minds possessed of any discernment. Women, more keen or more timid, generally see clearer in such cases than men: their conjugal love takes the alarm. It would appear that Claudine Levet and Jaquéma Chautemps felt all the tender solicitude of their sex, and conjured their husbands not to place themselves in the cruel hands of the bishop, and to quit their homes, their children, and their country which they could now serve better abroad. These two excellent christians were among the number of those who escaped. Maisonneuve, against whom the mamelukes were much irritated, set out for Berne, full of indignation against the bishop's tyranny. To this city, next to God, he always looked for deliverance. Several others also quitted Geneva.[765] [Sidenote: HUGUENOTS ENTRAPPED.]